Cartoon's Prehistoric Park

by WildExpert24

Join Thomas Tran, Charlie Yeager, and company as they travel back in time and save the amazing animals that time has left behind. Their goal? To bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance. Welcome to the Ultimate Wildlife Sanctuary. Welcome to Cartoon's Prehistoric Park.

4. Chapter 1 - T Rex Returns Pt 2

Chapter 1 - T. Rex Returns 1 Pt. 2

A time card appears saying "The Next Morning."

French Narrator: "The Next Morning."

The scene changes to where our heroes camped near a clearing with lots of plants surrounding a lake with a flowing stream. When Charlie straightened up from washing his face in the stream adjacent to the camp, the sight that greets his astonished eyes was a huge herd of horned dinosaurs, many as large as elephants, drawn to the water's edge by food and drink. Along with other species of herbivores including the Ornithomimus flock from yesterday, large duck-billed hadrosaurs, small ornithopods, domed-headed pachycephalosaurs, another herd of horned dinosaurs that almost resemble the other ones, but larger, and a single large long-necked sauropod.

French Narrator: "The camp has some visitors, More creatures in the last throes of their existence."

Charlie: "Oh my… Hey, you gotta see this! guys come out here!"

Thomas: "Whoa... Now, that's a glorious sight to wake up to."

As the group was getting ready for the day they saw a large herd of dinosaurs coming to the stream to drink and browse for food close by. On the right side edge of the clearing, There was a herd of small ornithopods-like dinosaurs covered with dark brown feathers, black feathering around the neck and head, a white throat collar, white eyebrows marking under and above the eyes, dark brown quills on its tail, except the snout, legs, and tail, the snouts were gray with black beaks, the male had small red keratin like a stubby horn on its snout and dark blue throat, the female lack the red keratin nose, and pale yellow throat, the legs were gray, and the tail was black and white striped they were joined by the Ornithomimus from yesterday as they walked while bobbing their heads before approaching the shore of the river and to drink.

The most impressive herbivores in the center of the clearing were a herd of large duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs, they were the largest herbivores in the Hell Creek Ecosystem. The largest was almost about forty feet long, one of them stood out from the rest for its large size covered with bite marks and scars from previous encounters with predators, possibly the leader of the herd. The bodies had short bristle-like filaments that look invisible far away like the hair of an elephant on their scaly bodies. They were golden yellow in color, with a black line running down their body, they had black stripes on the flanks and legs, the lower portion striping resembled that of the leg of okapis, tail with the end being white and black striping, spots around the of the base of the tail, body region ending with large spots with bronze yellow centers with black spots on the white underbelly, and head. There was a row of scale-like spines running down its body, they had long flat heads, ending with a black beak that was long covered with keratin, attached to powerful muscular necks. Some members of the herd had bright yellow heads, yellow eye rings, black stripping near the nasal sac, and a lower bronze yellow cheek, mostly these were females, the juveniles resembled them except they lack the yellow heads and bronze cheek, the other members had blue heads, and the nasal sac was black striped with red at the bottom and bright purple at the top, a red cheek with a red lining running down its neck, violet eye and marking behind the head, and large throat poaches that was dark blue and dark maroon, they were likely males.

Alongside them was a herd of dome-headed dinosaurs they can easily recognize, they stood on two legs, and they had five-finger hands with three inner fingers with short nail-like claws, the adults about ten feet long, covered with brown scaly skin with the upper part being dark brown with rows of black osteoderms on its body and tail on the scales, alight underbelly, a skin membrane behind their hind legs, they had black markings, spots, and stripes, with bronze yellow long bristle-like quill filaments on the upper portion of their body and running down to the tails. Some of the individuals had small horns on the tip of their noses, and long sharp-looking spikes surrounding the edges of their dome, but were flat, there were adolescent teenagers which were light brown color with black stripes and spots and tan bristles and young preteen-age individuals that were tan as their bristle quills with black stripes and spots. The females and young males had pale colored dome heads and with the young males being pale orange. Two adult males with brightly colored orange domes, taller spikes, dark blue faces and necks, an orange line running down the sides of the neck, a black neck collar patch, and a red-orange throat pouch were sizing each other before charging head-butting their heads like Bighorn sheep rams and again, but this time the alpha male rammed his head at his opponents flank as they bellowed at each other.

In the center of the herd were some familiar three-horned dinosaurs that our crew instantly recognized. They were two separate species of ceratopsian dinosaurs known for their large frills and three horns, two large brow horns over the eyes, and a small horn around the snout. The feet were scaly-like paws that almost look hand-like, the forelimbs with three inner toes with claw-like hooves, and the two outer toes lacked them almost like they were dangling off the floor. Although both species look about the same size, there were differences between the two ceratopsids. One group was about thirty feet, and had a shorter, rounder bony frill with a keratin seath layer with circular scale pale osteoderm rows on the frill, the adults were scaly dark brown on the top and brown underneath with black spotting and striping patterns with stripes on the tail with osteoderms and black colored feet, they had a pale underbelly which was ventral scaled similar to a crocodile, they had thin bristle like quills over the top of their bodies and the base of the tail which was taller and longer at the base giving them a porcupine appearance, a black beak, the horns were pale with black tips, the males had golden yellow vertical stripes running down from the top do their bodies, they have golden yellow nasal sacs, bright blue face with a black stripe line marking running from the beak to the eye to the frill, the eye rings were red, the frill was bright orange with black striping on the sides with a pair ifbright blue circles on the middle frill which had red circles in the center with black dots, One Male Triceratops, an older bull had longer horns, it had a black coloring at the top and dark brown at the bottom, darker blue on the face, darker orange frill, dark red center frill spots, and a darker bronze yellow nasal sac, the females were identical, but had pale nasal sacs, light gray face, gold yellow sides on the frill, a pair of light brown frill spot, and a red orange eye ring, the teenagers were light brown with dark brown striping sand feet, a gray face, pale eyerings, a pair of tan frill spots, pale peach frill, the juveniles and hatchlings were similar, but the juveniles were tan with light brown stripings and feet, shorter brow horns that backward curved, spike like triangular epoccipitals bordering the frills compared to the adults which were smooth and less spiky, a dark gray brown face, and the hatchlings had a pair of peach spots on the frill, pale sand face, short small horns, a tan color body with light brown stripings and feet and they had a lot of bristle filament like quills over their bodies while the other group was smaller about twenty-five feet long, the horns were blakc tipped top and bottom between the pale ivory coloring, it had gray osteoderm covered skin with three large horizontal dark gray striping on the sides, belly, and towards the tail which had gray vertical striping, pale sand underbellies, vertical bronze yellow striping running down from the top of their bodies on the males with the females being more sand pale yellow, it had dark gray-brown bristles on the base of their tails, white markings around the eyes, with a more elaborate long frill with large openings on it filled with mostly muscle, skin, and a layer of keratin sheath that had black stripes on the edges of the frill and face. The males had black markings around the eyes towards the snout with black stripes running down the golden yellow cheeks, a nasal sac which was dark blue with black stripes, a white eye marking with a golden yellow eye ring surrounding the eye, the frill was red with small black stripe markings surrounding the edges of the frill with the red lining splitting down the middle of the two openings, the large openings were orange with two yellow spots at the bottom, at the top a bright blue teardrop-shaped marking, with a black marking square standing on its fixed base, there is a black spot in the center surrounded with bright yellow, the females had yellow cheeks, pale orange frill, a striped dark gray nasal sac, frill openings were white with pale blue circles with pale peach centers, and peach color earrings same with the juveniles and youngsters. The juvenile adolescents had pale vertical striping running down from the top of their bodies, three big gray horizontal stripes on the sides and belly with gray stripes on the tail, pale cheeks and frill with light gray circles with sand yellow centers on the openings, and a light gray nasal sac. The babies were dark gray with black spots, pale color cheeks and frills, and sand color circle openings. Some of the individuals had horns curved upright at the end, crooked, curved downward, and longer horn tips, and some had horn tips on either or both sides that broke off mostly from an event with a predator or a battle with another triceratops.

But the most impressive herbivore in the middle of the herd behind the hadrosaurs towering over them all was a sauropod, it almost resembles a brachiosaurs, but lacks the distinct bump ont it's head, it was long, flat more of a titanosaur, a thick, robust neck, It had gray dermal armor on its body and tail, It had a row of gray long narrow spines down the back of its neck, the spines longer as it was a male, longer spines for the males), twin ventral rows of smaller spines on the lower half of its neck and towards the base of the tail, its hind legs had three sprawling claws, and one spike thumb on its front legs, It had dark brown stripes on its legs, tail, and upper porton of it's body, the rest of the body and light underbelly were spotted, the upper portion of it's was a long golden yellow stripe running the neck to the base of the tail border by a light brown stripe starting from the head where the eyes are located running down the neck and body to the base of the tail, the body was mostly brown in color, it had a orange eye ring, an orange throat sac pouch, the nsasl sacs were red with dark blue stripes, the snout had a keratin beak similar to a turtle or tortoise, and had thin hair like filament over the top portion of it's body similar to an elephant.

Lana Loud: "Hey look there's Triceratops! A Pachycephalosaurus!"

Lisa: "Based on their physical anatomy, these hadrosaurs dinosaurs are Edmontosaurus, The small ornithopods are Thescelosaurus, and the Ornithomimus flock from yesterday."

Luan: "And what about the ones that look like Triceratops?"

Lisa: "Those are actually Torosaurus, they're two different species, and as for the sauropod, it looks like that is an Alamosaurus? That seems impossible since no fossils have been found in Hell Creek Formation?!"

Thomas: "These are interesting creatures, like Triceratops, one of people's favorite dinosaurs. When the fossils were found, they named this species Triceratops Horridus. It means "Horrid Three-horned Face", but how could they be?"

All: "What?!"

Luna: "That's bogus!"

Lucy: "Total misunderstanding!"

Lan Loud: "They're not horrid. They are absolutely gorgeous! And big, too!"

Lisa: "They were quite big, eighth oldest sibling, Triceratops is estimated to have reached about 7.9 to 9 meters (25.9 to 29.5 ft) in length, 2.9 to 3.0 meters (9.5 to 9.8 ft) in height, and 6.1 to 12.0 metric tons (6.7 to 13.2 short tons) in body mass, but paleontologist Gregory S. Paul suggested a lower length estimate of 8 meters (26 ft) and a lower body mass estimate of 9 metric tons (9.9 short tons). The largest-known skull is estimated to have been 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in length when complete, and could reach almost a third of the length of the entire animal. A specimen of Triceratops horridus named Kelsey measured 7.3 meters (24 ft) long with a 2-meter (6.5 ft) skull, stood about 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) tall, and was estimated by the Black Hills institute to weigh nearly 6 metric tons (6.6 short tons)."

Thomas: "Yes, they were huge. In fact, Triceratops is the official state fossil of South Dakota, and the official state dinosaur of Wyoming, and look over there is a big male, He's much darker brown in color, he must be the dominant bull in the herd."

Thomas was pointing to the Large Dark Brown, Dark color frill, Male Triceratops with the longer horns who is watching over the other herbivores and the other members of its herd, observing their activities like his offspring playing and making sure the young bulls don't get out of control in their mock fights in case one of them would challenge his position.

Thomas: "He's up to 8 meters (26.2 ft) long and 9 metric tons (9.9 short tons) in body mass. There are two known species. The Horridus and Prorsus species. This herd belong to the type species, Triceratops horridus and it was another dinosaur described and named after American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. Back in 1889 and Triceratops has been documented by numerous remains collected since then, The first named fossil specimen now attributed to Triceratops is a pair of brow horns attached to a skull roof, found by George Lyman Cannon near Denver, Colorado, in the spring of 1887. This specimen was sent to Marsh, who believed that the formation from which it came dated from the Pliocene, and that the bones belonged to a particularly large and unusual bison, which he named Bison alticornis. He realized that there were horned dinosaurs by the next year, which saw his publication of the genus Ceratops from fragmentary remains, but he still believed B. alticornis to be a Pliocene mammal. It took a third and much more complete skull to change his mind. Although not confidentially assignable, fossils possibly belonging to Triceratops were described as two taxa synonym names, Agathaumas sylvestris and Polyonax mortuarius in 1872 and 1874 respectively, by Marsh's rival Edward Drinker Cope. Agathaumas was named based on a pelvis, several vertebrae, and some ribs collected by Fielding Bradford Meek and Henry Martyn Bannister near the Green River of southeastern Wyoming from layers coming from the Maastrichtian Lance Formation. Due to the fragmentary nature of the remains, it can only confidently be assigned to Ceratopsidae. Polyonax mortuarius was collected by Cope himself in 1873 from northeastern Colorado, possibly coming from the Maastrichtian Denver Formation. The fossils only consisted of fragmentary horn cores, 3 dorsal vertebrae, and fragmentary limb elements. Polyonax has the same issue as Agathaumas, with the fragmentary remains non-assignable beyond Ceratopsidae. Cowboy Edmund B. Wilson had been startled by the sight of a monstrous skull poking out of the side of a ravine. He tried to recover it by throwing a lasso around one of the horns. When it broke off, the skull tumbling to the bottom of the cleft, Wilson brought the horn to his boss, the rancher, and avid fossil collector Charles Arthur Guernsey, who happened to show it to Hatcher. Marsh subsequently ordered Hatcher to locate and salvage the skull. The Triceratops holotype was collected in 1888 from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, USA, by fossil hunter John Bell Hatcher, yet Marsh initially described this specimen as another species of Ceratops. The holotype was first named Ceratops horridus, but when further preparation uncovered the third nose horn, Marsh changed his mind and gave the piece the generic name Triceratops (lit. 'three horn face'), accepting his Bison alticornis as another species of Ceratops. (It would later be added to Triceratops.) The sturdy nature of the animal's skull has ensured that many examples have been preserved as fossils, allowing variations between species and individuals to be studied. Triceratops remains have subsequently been found in the American states of Montana and South Dakota (and more in Colorado and Wyoming), as well as the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. An earlier specimen, also recovered from the Lance Formation, was named Agathaumas sylvestris by Edward Drinker Cope in 1872. Originally identified as a hadrosaur, this specimen consists only of post-cranial remains and is only provisionally considered an example of Triceratops. After Triceratops was described, between 1889 and 1891 Hatcher with great effort collected another thirty-one of its skulls. The first species had been named T. horridus by Marsh. Its specific name was derived from the Latin horridus ('rough, rugose'), perhaps referring to the type specimen's rough texture, later identified as an aged individual. The additional skulls varied to a lesser or greater degree from the original holotype. This variation is unsurprising, given that Triceratops skulls are large three-dimensional objects, coming from individuals of different ages and both sexes, and which were subjected to different amounts and directions of pressure during fossilization. Although both were named by Marsh, Triceratops horridus was an older species while Triceratops Prorsus was an earlier species, and possibly evolved from horridus."

Tish: "I think the most distinctive famous feature is their large skull, among the largest of all land animals. Triceratops is the best-known genus of the Ceratopsidae, a family of large, mostly North American horned dinosaurs. They are separated by two subfamilies, and Chasmosaurinae. Triceratops are classified in the subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs known as chasmosaurines, and they in turn are part of a tribe called Triceratopsini alongside Torosaurus. Like all chasmosaurines, Triceratops had a large skull relative to its body size. The front of the head was equipped with a large beak in front of the teeth. The core of the top beak was formed by a special rostral bone. The teeth were closely appressed, forming a "dental battery" curving to the inside. The skull bore a single horn on the snout, above the nostrils. In Triceratops, the nose horn is sometimes recognized as a separate ossification, the epinasal. The skull also featured a pair of "brow" or supraorbital horns approximately 1 meter (3.3 ft) long, with one above each eye. The jugal bones pointed below at the rear sides of the skull and were capped by separate epijugals. With Triceratops these were not particularly large and sometimes touched the quadratojugal. The bones of the skull roof were fused by folding the frontal bones, a "double" skull roof was created. At the rear of the skull, the outer squamosal bones and the inner parietal bones grew into a relatively short, bony frill, adorned with epoccipitals in young specimens. These were low triangular processes on the frill edge, representing separate skin ossifications or osteoderms. The largest Triceratops skull ever found was discovered in 1992 and excavated in 2003 in Dawson County, Montana, in the Hell Creek Formation. It is a 66-million-year-old male Triceratops skull, 9.2 feet (2.8 m) long, 5.2 feet (1.6 m) high, and 4.6 feet (1.4 m) wide, and weighing over 1,300 lb (600 kg). It has been dubbed 'Dragon King' and is understood to be the most expensive skull to ever trade privately. Chasmosaurines showed little variation in their postcranial skeleton. The skeleton of Triceratops is markedly robust. Both Triceratops species possessed a sturdy build, with strong limbs, short hands with three hooves each, and short feet with four hooves each."

Double D: "There is more to the Triceratops anatomy, Although certainly quadrupedal, the posture of horned dinosaurs has long been the subject of some debate. Originally, it was believed that the front legs of the animal had to be sprawled at a considerable angle from the thorax in order to better bear the weight of the head. This stance can be seen in paintings by Charles Knight and Rudolph Zallinger. Ichnological evidence in the form of trackways from horned dinosaurs and recent reconstructions of skeletons (both physical and digital) seem to show that Triceratops and other ceratopsids maintained an upright stance during normal locomotion, with the elbows flexed to behind and slightly bowed out, in an intermediate state between fully upright and fully sprawling, comparable to the modern rhinoceros and look at the skin. A Preserved skin of Triceratops is known from a specimen found in Wyoming, though it has not been formally published in the scientific literature. These consist of large ~50–60 millimeters (2.0–2.4 in) across hexagonal tubercles, along with larger 100 millimeters (3.9 in) across tubercles with conical projections and it looks like they have bristle-like quills over their body and near the base of a tail."

Eddy: "So its front half looks like a rhino and the back half looks like a porcupine."

Double D: "Well, yes."

Charlie: "Although we're used to seeing Triceratops alone or in herds in some media, People questioned the social life of triceratops because only single fossils have been found, they were assumed to be solitary Animals which is true almost. But from what we're seeing here along with new fossil evidence of several individuals found together Triceratops mostly lived in herds. But unlike other ceratopsids like Pachyrhinosaurus and Centrosaurus which were numerous living in large big herds. Triceratops would have lived in small herds, mostly family groups. There's the large bull over there, some younger bulls, Many females, and their offspring. As you probably know by now, Triceratops were herbivorous, and because of their low-slung head, their primary food was probably low-growing vegetation, although they may have been able to knock down taller plants with their horns, beak, and bulk. The jaws were tipped with a deep, narrow beak, believed to have been better at grasping and plucking than biting and it was very sharp. Triceratops teeth were arranged in groups called batteries, of 36 to 40 tooth columns on each side of each jaw, with 3 to 5 stacked teeth per column, depending on the size of the animal. This gives a range of 432 to 800 teeth, of which only a fraction was in use at any given time this is called Tooth replacement which was continuous throughout the life of the animal. They functioned by shearing in a vertical to near-vertical orientation. The great size and numerous teeth of Triceratops suggest that they ate large volumes of fibrous plant material, with some researchers suggesting palms and cycads, and others suggesting ferns, which then grew in prairies."

The herd of Triceratops was minding their own business, some were browsing on some bushes, ferns, and cycads, some were drinking from the drink while the babies were playing with each other chasing around and Butting heads, and a few young bulls sparring with each other. Then they heard a loud bellow coming from the older bull to remind them who was in charge and they stopped.

Jake: "Look at this, the field guide saying on the Triceratops. An Analysis of the endocranial anatomy of Triceratops suggests its sense of smell was poor compared to that of other dinosaurs. Its ears were attuned to low-frequency sounds given the short cochlear lengths recorded in an analysis by Sakagami, They can hear sounds that would be inaudible to us just like elephants, They hear with their feet. This same study also suggests that Triceratops held its head about 45 degrees to the ground; an angle which would showcase the horns and frill most effectively while simultaneously allowing the animal to take advantage of food through grazing. A new recent study of this year in 2022 by Wiemann and colleagues of various dinosaur genera including Triceratops suggests that it had an ectothermic (cold-blooded) or gigantothermic metabolism, on par with that of modern reptiles. This was uncovered using the spectroscopy of lipoxidation signals, which are byproducts of oxidative phosphorylation and correlate with metabolic rates. They suggested that such metabolisms may have been common for ornithischian dinosaurs in general, with the group evolving towards ectothermy from an ancestor with an endothermic (warm-blooded) metabolism."

Iris: "I do adore those horns."

Lynn: "Yeah, and that shield."

Lisa: "That's it's frill!"

3: "So what's with the horns and frills?"

Thomas: "There have been many theories of what they were used for. The two main theories have revolved around use in combat and in courtship display, with the latter now thought to be the most likely primary function. There are variations in the horns in some of the individuals. Some have straight horns, horns curved at the tip, and broken tips mostly from experience dealing with predators and rivals. The horns were mostly covered with keratin, same with the frill."

Lisa: "You should know although pitting, holes, lesions, and other damage on Triceratops skulls (and the skulls of other ceratopsids) are often attributed to horn damage in combat, a 2006 study finds no evidence for horn thrust injuries causing these forms of damage (for example, there is no evidence of infection or healing). Instead, non-pathological bone resorption, or unknown bone diseases, are suggested as causes. A newer study compared incidence rates of skull lesions and periosteal reaction in Triceratops and Centrosaurus and showed that these were consistent with Triceratops using its horns in combat and the frill being adapted as a protective structure, while lower pathology rates in Centrosaurus may indicate visual rather than physical use of cranial ornamentation, or a form of combat focused on the body rather than the head."

Lynn: "Hey, there is something stuff about how Triceratops fight in the guide, in addition to combat with predators using horns, Triceratops are popularly shown engaging each other in combat with horns locked. While studies show that such activity would be feasible if unlike that of present-day horned animals, there is disagreement about whether they did so. The frequency of injury was found to be 14% in Triceratops. The researchers also concluded that the damage found on the specimens in the study was often too localized to be caused by bone disease

Histological examination reveals that the frill of Triceratops is composed of fibrolamellar bone which contains fibroblasts that play a critical role in wound healing, and are capable of rapidly depositing bone during remodeling. One skull was found with a hole in the jugal bone, apparently, a puncture wound sustained while the animal was alive, as indicated by signs of healing. The hole has a diameter close to that of the distal end of a Triceratops horn. This, and other apparent healed wounds in the skulls of ceratopsians, has been cited as evidence of non-fatal intraspecific competition in these dinosaurs. Another specimen referred to as "Big John" has a similar fenestra to the squamosal caused by what appears to be another Triceratops horn, and the squamosal bone shows signs of significant healing, further vindicating the hypothesis that this ceratopsian used its horns for intra-specific combat."

Lynn: "Geez, quite rough so instead they fought with each other for the girls, right?"

Thomas: Yes, But not as often as most conflicts end with intimidation with one backing down."

Double D: "There is another theory that the large frill also may have helped to increase body area to regulate body temperature. A similar theory has been proposed regarding the plates of Stegosaurus, although this use alone would not account for the bizarre and extravagant variation seen in different members of the Ceratopsidae, which would rather support the sexual display theory. I think the main purpose is that the frills functioned as a sexual display as you can see the males are brightly colored with markings. Such evidence that visual display was important, either in courtship or other social behavior, can be seen in the horned dinosaurs differing markedly in their adornments, making each species highly distinctive. Also, modern living creatures with such displays of horns and adornments use them similarly. A 2006 study of the smallest Triceratops skull, ascertained to be a juvenile, shows the frill and horns developed at a very early age, predating sexual development and thus probably important for visual communication and species recognition in general. The use of the exaggerated structures to enable dinosaurs to recognize their own species has been questioned, as no such function exists for such structures in modern species. So the frill was used to intimidate rivals making it scarier and opposing to predators, but most importantly to entice a female."

Ron: "Say, Thomas, How come some Triceratops look different from the others?"

Thomas: "Those aren't Triceratops, Those are Torosaurus."

Charlie: "Yeah. One of the Tyrannosaurus' sources of prey are these bulky Torosauruses. In the Late Cretaceous period, herds of horned herbivores like these were very common, and attracted many predators."

Lisa: "And it's another dinosaur named after Marsh, In 1891, two years after the naming of Triceratops, a pair of ceratopsian skulls with elongated frills bearing holes were found in southeastern Wyoming, Niobrara County, by John Bell Hatcher. Hatcher's employer, paleontologist Professor Othniel Charles Marsh, coined the genus Torosaurus for them.

The allusion is to the fenestrae or ("window-like") holes in the elongated frill, which have traditionally served to distinguish it from the solid frill of Triceratops. Much of the confusion over the etymology of the name results from the fact that Marsh never explicitly explained it in his papers."

Numbuh 2: "The guide says The name Torosaurus is frequently translated as "bull lizard" from the Latin noun Taurus or Italian and Spanish toro, but much more likely is derived from the Greek verb toreo, "to pierce, perforate". But Torosaurus means "perforated lizard", this species here is Torosaurus latus which means "the wide one" in Latin, referring to the frill. Torosaurus possessed one of the largest skulls of any known land animal. Due to the elongated frill, the skull length is considerably estimated from 2.2 meters to 2.35 meters. In 1933 Richard Swann Lull increased this to 2.4 meters and 2.57 meters respectively. Based on this, Torosaurus was seen as having the longest skull of any known land animal. However, in 1998 Thomas Lehman claimed that a Pentaceratops specimen possessed a partial skull that would have been 2.9 meters long in life. This was again doubted by Nicholas Longrich who in 2011 named this exemplar as a separate genus Titanoceratops and concluded its skull had been reconstructed as too long. Furthermore, in 2006 Andrew Farke had pointed out that the new skulls described by him were on average even longer than with a length of 252 centimeters to 277 centimeters. Farke in 2006 established some diagnostic traits of Torosaurus. The frill is extremely long in comparison to the remainder of the skull. The rear, parietal, and edge of the frill bears ten or more epiparietals, triangular osteoderms. A midline epiparietal is absent; likewise, no osteoderm straddles the parietal-squamosal boundary. The parietal bone is thin. It is pierced by parietal fenestrae in the form of circular or transversely oval openings. The parietal bone is about 20% wider than long. Farke identified a single trait in which T. latus differed from both Triceratops horridus and T. utahensis: its squamosal bore a conspicuous ridge on the edge with the parietal combined with a deep longitudinal trough parallel to it. Farke pointed out that the known Torosaurus specimens are rather variable. The orbital "brow" horns are sometimes large and curved to the front, sometimes short and straight."

Thomas: "Another interesting detail on Torosaurus was at one time considered a controversial dinosaur. The debate was that Torosaurus actually represented the adult stage of Triceratops, But there has been a disagreement though. In the Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian stage of the continent of Laramidia, the two closely related chasmosaurine genera shared the same habitat. The only discernible difference between them was the form of the frill. No Torosaurus juveniles are known, but a considerable number of Triceratops juveniles have been found. Triceratops differs from other chasmosaurines in the retention as an adult of a juvenile trait: the short squamosals, the squamous portion of the temporal bone, especially when this forms a separate bone which, in mammals, articulates with the lower jaw, a case of paedomorphosis which is an alternative process to metamorphosis in which adults retain larval traits at the adult stage. In 2009 John Scannella, investigating dinosaur ontogeny in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, concluded that this situation could be best explained by the hypothesis that Triceratops and Torosaurus were growth stages of a single genus. The Torosaurus specimens would be fully mature individuals of Triceratops and such Torosaurus would be a junior synonym of Triceratops, the latter name having priority. But there are Disagreements against that with supporting evidence, There are differences in the skulls. The Triceratops' skull was short and very solid and Torosaurus was long and had holes, and juvenile Triceratops specimens were juvenile Torosaurus. In 2022 Mallon argued that two specimens found in Canada's Frenchman and Scollard Formations, at Eastend Historical Museum in Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta, are subadults and can be referred to as Torosaurus, indicating it was a valid taxon so they were distinctly separate species from Triceratops. The same study also noted that Torosaurus indeed lived during the Upper Maastrichtian which is true as what we're seeing here."

Ron: "No wonder those two almost look alike."

Misty: "Hey, Thomas, what about those dinosaurs over there?" (Pointing to the herd of hadrosaurs).

Thomas: "I read books, seen images and fossils of this dinosaur, named by Marsh, although he referred to it to Claosaurus annectens while his rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope

called it Diclonius mirabilis. It's real name is Edmontosaurus annectens meaning "connected lizard from Edmonton", It was a species of flat-headed and duck-billed (hadrosaurid) dinosaur and exhibits one of the most striking examples of the "duckbill" snout common to hadrosaurs."

Kim: "The guide says something about its long complicated taxonomic history, with various specimens having been classified in a variety of genera. went by various synonymous names

Anatosaurus, Anatotitan, Claosaurus, Diclonius, Hadrosaurus, Thespesius, and Trachodon.

The first good specimen, the former holotype (specimen on which a taxonomic name is based) of Anatosaurus copei (Anatotitan), was a complete skull and most of a skeleton collected in 1882 by Dr. J. L. Wortman and R. S. Hill for the paleontologist. The name Edmontosaurus itself was coined in 1917 by Lawrence Lambe for two partial skeletons found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (formerly the lower Edmonton Formation) along the Red Deer River of southern Alberta, Canada. After years of a reclassification, there are currently two valid species, The type species Edmontosaurus regalis, and what Thomas mentioned Edmontosaurus annectens, the largest of the two and look how big and huge they were even bigger than me, any of us, the Triceratops, and T. Rex, they would have been the largest herbivores in the Cretaceous Hell Creek Ecosystem if you don't count that lone sauropod. Edward Drinker Cope estimated the length of one specimen as about 38 feet (12 m) long, with a skull 3.87 feet (1.18 m) long. This body length estimate was later revised down to a length of 29 feet (8.8 m), although to be fair to Cope, a dozen vertebrae, the hips, and thigh bones had been carried away by a stream cutting through the skeleton, and the tip of the tail was incomplete. A second skeleton currently exhibited next to Cope's specimen, but in a standing posture, is estimated at 30 feet (9.1 m) long, with its head 17 feet (5.2 m) above the ground. The hip height of this specimen is estimated as approximately 2.1 meters (6.9 ft). Other sources have estimated the length of Edmontosaurus annectens as approximately 12 meters (39 ft). Edmontosaurus annectens may have weighed about 6.6 metric tons (7.3 tons) when fully grown. But look at the skull of the Edmontosaurus annectens, it is known for its long, wide muzzle. Cope compared this feature to that of a goose in the side view, and to a short-billed spoonbill in the top view. The skull was longer and lower proportionally than in any other known hadrosaurid."

The group hid in the bushes as they observed the dinosaurs, the Torosaurus were browsing on ferns and cycads while the young bulls sparred head butting with each other, and the youngsters ran and chased each other around, often head-butting as goats would. The Edmontosaurus were browsing on the plants too, other individuals were drinking the water from the stream and some collecting aquatic plants with their mouths while most of them walked on all four legs which the hindlimbs were three-toed with hoof-like claws and the front limbs had surprisingly a single big hoof on each forelimb similar to a horse some stood on two legs to watch for danger.

Lisa: "As you can see Edmontosaurus, like other hadrosaurids, could move both on two legs and on four legs. It probably preferred to forage for food on four legs, but ran on two. Henry Fairfield Osborn used the skeletons in the American Museum of Natural History to portray both quadrupedal and bipedal stances."

Lincoln: "I can see that Lisa, but look how they eat, the guide says as hadrosaurids, individuals of Edmontosaurus annectens would have been large herbivores, eating plants with a sophisticated skull that permitted a grinding motion analogous to chewing. A preserved rhamphotheca or beak present in a specimen, housed in the Los Angeles County Museum, also indicates the beak of Edmontosaurus was more hook-shaped and extensive than many illustrations in scientific and public media have previously depicted just like we're seeing now. Their teeth were continually replaced and packed into dental batteries that contained hundreds of teeth, only a relative handful of which were in use at any time. Plant material would have been cropped by the broad beak, and held in the jaws by a cheek-like structure. Feeding would have been from the ground up to around 4 meters (13 ft) above. Like other hadrosaurs, they could have moved both bipedal and quadrupedal. The extensive depressions surrounding its nasal openings may have hosted nasal diverticula. These postulated diverticula would have taken the form of inflatable soft-tissue sacs such sacs could be used for both visual and auditory signals. A preserved rhamphotheca or beak present in a specimen, housed in the Los Angeles County Museum, also indicates the beak of Edmontosaurus was more hook-shaped and extensive than many illustrations in scientific and public media have previously depicted."

Lisa: "It's amazing seeing the new discoveries of such creatures right in front of our own eyes, so it got me thinking if T. Rex was the Lion of the dinosaurs, then Edmontosaurus would have been the zebra. A tail from an Edmontosaurus had a bite mark that could have been made by a T. Rex and possibly used its tail as a defense."

Suddenly the group hears grunts and bellowing nearby to a herd of dome head dinosaurs. Two adult males were charging at each other, ramming each other in the head as the females, younger males, and youngsters watched.

Tucker(gasped): "Pachycephalosaurus!"

Heffer: "Carnivore?"

Tucker: No, Herbivore. You see that dome shaped head, It's why it's name means "Thick-headed lizard," Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis named after paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore. It was originally thought to be a Troodon when the earliest fossil finds were poor and fragmented; only the teeth were known until more later complete ones were found. Do you see that distinctive domed skull? nine-ten inches of solid bone. Now be careful, The head was supported by an "S''- or "U"-shaped neck and the pachy's neck attaches at the bottom of its skull, not at the back of its head as with other reptiles. When it lowers its head, its neck lines directly with its backbone, which safely cushions its tiny brain and is perfect for absorbing impact. It has been commonly hypothesized that Pachycephalosaurus and its relatives were the bipedal equivalents of bighorn sheep or musk oxen, where male individuals would ram each other headlong, and that they would horizontally straighten their head, neck, and body in order to transmit stress during ramming. However, there have also been alternative suggestions that the pachycephalosaurs could not have used their domes in this way. The primary argument that has been raised against head-butting is that the skull roof may not have adequately sustained impact associated with ramming, as well as a lack of definitive evidence of scars or other damage on fossilized Pachycephalosaurus skulls (however, more recent analyses have uncovered such damage). Furthermore, the cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae show that the neck was carried in an "S''- or "U''-shaped curve, rather than a straight orientation, and thus unfit for transmitting stress from direct head-butting. Lastly, the rounded shape of the skull would lessen the contacted surface area during head-butting, resulting in glancing blows. Alternatively, Pachycephalosaurus and other pachycephalosaurid genera may have engaged in flank-butting during intraspecific combat. In this scenario, an individual may have stood roughly parallel or faced a rival directly, using intimidation displays to cow its rival. If intimidation failed, the Pachycephalosaurus would bend its head downward and to the side, striking the rival pachycephalosaur on its flank. This hypothesis is supported by the relatively broad torso of most pachycephalosaurs, which would have protected vital organs from trauma. The flank-butting theory was first proposed by Sues in 1978, and expanded upon by Ken Carpenter in 1997. In 2012, a study showed that cranial pathologies in a specimen were likely due to agonistic behavior. It was also proposed that similar damage in other pachycephalosaur specimens previously explained as taphonomic artifacts and bone absorptions may instead have been due to such behavior. Peterson studied cranial pathologies among the Pachycephalosauridae and found that 22% of all domes examined had lesions that are consistent with osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone resulting from penetrating trauma, or trauma to the tissue overlying the skull leading to an infection of the bone tissue. This high rate of pathology lends more support to the hypothesis that pachycephalosaurid domes were employed in intra-specific combat. One specimen was observed to have 23 lesions in its frontal bone and another was observed to have 5 lesions. The frequency of trauma was comparable across the different genera in the pachycephalosaurid family, despite the fact that these genera vary with respect to the size and architecture of their domes, and the fact that they existed during varying geologic periods. These findings were in stark contrast with the results from analysis of the relatively flat-headed pachycephalosaurids, where there was an absence of pathology. This would support the hypothesis that these individuals represent either females or juveniles, where intra-specific combat behavior is not expected. Histological examination reveals that pachycephalosaurid domes are composed of a unique form of fibrolamellar bone which contains fibroblasts that play a critical role in wound healing, and are capable of rapidly depositing bone during remodeling. Peterson concluded that taken together, the frequency of lesion distribution and the bone structure of frontoparietal domes, lends strong support to the hypothesis that pachycephalosaurids used their unique cranial structures for agonistic behavior. CT scan comparisons of the skulls of Stegoceras validum, Prenocephale prenes, and several head-striking artiodactyls have also supported pachycephalosaurids as being well-equipped for head-butting. The dome's rear aspect was edged with bony knobs and short bony spikes projected upwards from the snout. The spikes were probably blunt, not sharp. The skull was short, and possessed large, rounded eye sockets that faced forward, suggesting that the animal had good eyesight and was capable of binocular vision. Pachycephalosaurus had a small muzzle which ended in a pointed beak. Younger individuals of Pachycephalosaurus may have had flatter skulls, with larger horns projecting from the back of the skull. As the animal grew, the horns shrunk and rounded out, as the dome grew rounder.``

Thomas: "Thank you for your briefing with this dinosaur Tuck."

Tucker: "Anytime, Bud."

After the male head butted its opponent. They ran towards each other by the chest and the team saw something unexpected. The first male uses its tail as a tripod support and kicks its opponent with its legs.

Charlie: "Huh?"

Tino: "Are these pachys turning into kangaroos?"

The two males were shoving each other and grabbing each other with their arms, Hitting the sides of their heads, and kicking their legs.

Tucker:"If my hunch was right, I read online there has been a new discovery with Pachycephalosaurus. Scientists analyzed their spine, the back bone vertebrate and compared them with modern day animals. It turns out they don't match with animals that use their heads to ram each other. They were ruffled like a kangaroo and their tails would have been like tripods for support. Other than headbutting they also could of Kickbox using their hind legs to kick their opponents and their skeletons even resembled those of kangaroos."

Charlie: "I just hope I don't get kicked by one."

Thomas: "This dinosaur is very fascinating, Pachycephalosaurus was bipedal and was the largest of the pachycephalosaurid (bone-headed) dinosaurs. It has been estimated that Pachycephalosaurus was about 4.5 meters (14.8 ft) long and weighed about 450 kilograms (990 lb). Based on other pachycephalosaurids, it probably had a fairly short, thick neck, short forelimbs, a bulky body, long hind legs, and a heavy tail, which was likely held rigid by ossified tendons. pachycephalosaurs were more closely related to ceratopsids like Triceratops and Torosaurus as they both shared a common ancestor. There was a debate on the life stages of Pachycephalosaurus only adult pachys were found, but where were the juveniles? In recent studies, it's now accepted that two other Pachycephalosaurs, Stygimoloch spinifer ("thorny Moloch of the Styx") and Dracorex hogwartsia (''dragon king of Hogwarts'') are life stages of pachycephalosaurus. In most living animals today, the babies, preteens, and teens all look different from the adults as they grow up based on traits including Height, Skin, Eye Color, and Body shape showing you see in siblings despite their differences they're the same animals."

Lincoln: "Yes, although, my sisters and I all look and act different we're still family." (As his sisters hugged him) "So what you're saying the Dracorex was actually a preteen Pachycephalosaurus and the Stygimoloch was really a teenager Pachycephalosaurus?"

Thomas: "Correct Lincoln, and although Tucker did say they were herbivores, Scientists do not yet know what these dinosaurs ate. Having very small, ridged teeth, they could not have chewed tough, fibrous plants like flowering shrubs as effectively as other dinosaurs of the same period. It is assumed that pachycephalosaurs lived on a mixed diet of leaves, seeds, and fruits. The sharp, serrated teeth would have been very effective for shredding plants. It is also suspected that the dinosaur may have included meat in its diet. The most complete fossil jaw shows that it had serrated blade-like front teeth, reminiscent of those of carnivorous theropods."

Luna: "So Thomas, what are those small dinosaurs over there?"

Thomas: "I believe these are Thescelosaurus meaning "godlike", "marvelous", or "wondrous" Lizard, another dinosaur Gilmore type specimen of Thescelosaurus was discovered in 1891 by paleontologists John Bell Hatcher and William H. Utterback, skeleton, however, remained in its shipping crates for years until Charles W. Gilmore of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History had it prepared and described it in a short paper in 1913, naming it Thescelosaurus neglectus (neglectus: "neglected"). The skeleton is known well enough that a detailed reconstruction of the hip and hindlimb muscles has been made. The animal's size has been estimated in the 2.5–4.0 m range for length (8.2–13.1 ft) for various specimens, and a weight of 200–300 kilograms (450–660 pounds), as discussed more fully under "Discovery, history, and species", it may have been sexually dimorphic, with one sex larger than the remains are known from several locations, mostly based on teeth. Thescelosaurus was a heavily built bipedal animal, probably herbivorous, but potentially not. Its teeth were of two types: small pointed premaxillary teeth, and leaf-shaped cheek teeth. It had short, broad, five-fingered hands, four-toed feet with hoof-like toe tips, and a long tail braced by ossified tendons from the middle to the tip, which would have reduced the flexibility of the tail. The rib cage was broad, giving it a wide back, and the limbs were robust. The preservation and completeness of many of its specimens indicate that it may have preferred to live near streams like this one here."

Lisa: "Mr. Tran, I found some interesting information involving this dinosaur, this year in a recent dinosaur documentary, a Thescelosaurus specimen was found thought to be allegedly killed on the day of the K-Pg Mass Extinction, it was covered in skin impressions that included elongated scales over the legs. One of the paleontologists excavating it was quoted as speculating they had a camouflage function. Thescelosaurus has generally been allied to Hypsilophodon and other small neornithischians as a hypsilophodontid, although recognized as being distinct among them for its robust build, unusual hindlimbs, and, more recently, its unusually long skull. But it's now a family of its own Thescelosauridae. Thescelosaurus would have browsed in the first meter or so from the ground, feeding selectively, with food held in the mouth by cheeks while chewing. Thescelosaurus was probably slower than other hypsilophodonts, because of its heavier build and leg structure. Compared to them, it had unusual hindlimbs, because the upper leg was longer than the shin, the opposite of Hypsilophodon and running animals in general. One specimen is known to have had a bone pathology, with the long bones of the right foot fused at their tops, hindering swift movement. Examinations of the teeth of Thescelosaurus and comparisons with the contemporary pachycephalosaur, Stegoceras suggest that Thescelosaurus was a selective feeder, while Stegoceras was a more indiscriminate feeder, allowing both animals to share the same environment without competing for food. The genus attracted media attention in 2000, when a specimen unearthed in 1993 in South Dakota, United States, was interpreted as including a fossilized heart. There was much discussion over whether the remains were of a heart. Many scientists now doubt the identification of the object and the implications of such an identification. In 2000, a skeleton of this genus informally known as "Willo", now on display at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, was described as including the remnants of a four-chambered heart and an aorta. It had been originally unearthed in 1993 in northwestern South Dakota. The authors found the internal detail through computed tomography (CT) imagery. They suggested that the heart had been saponified (turned to grave wax) under airless burial conditions, and then changed to goethite, an iron mineral, by replacement of the original material. The authors interpreted the structure of the heart as indicating an elevated metabolic rate for Thescelosaurus, not reptilian cold-bloodedness. Their conclusions have been disputed; soon after the initial description, other researchers published a paper where they asserted that the heart is really a concretion. As they noted, the anatomy given for the object is incorrect (for example, the "aorta" narrows coming into the "heart" and lacks arteries coming from it), it partially engulfs one of the ribs and has an internal structure of concentric layers in some places, and another concretion is preserved behind the right leg. The original authors defended their position; they agreed that it was a type of concretion, but one that had formed around and partially preserved the more muscular portions of the heart and aorta. A study published in 2011 applied multiple lines of inquiry to the question of the object's identity, including more advanced CT scanning, histology, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. From these methods, the authors found the following: the object's internal structure does not include chambers but is made up of three unconnected areas of lower-density material, and is not comparable to the structure of an ostrich's heart; the "walls" are composed of sedimentary minerals not known to be produced in biological systems, such as goethite, feldspar minerals, quartz, and gypsum, as well as some plant fragments; carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, chemical elements important to life, were lacking in their samples; and cardiac cellular structures were absent. There was one possible patch with animal cellular structures. The authors found their data supported identification as a concretion of sand from the burial environment, not the heart, with the possibility that isolated areas of tissues were preserved. The question of how this find reflects metabolic rate and dinosaur internal anatomy is moot, though, regardless of the object's identity. Both modern crocodilians and birds, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, have four-chambered hearts (albeit modified in crocodilians), so dinosaurs probably had them as well; the structure is not necessarily tied to metabolic rate. You see Organs and soft tissue often dissolve quickly before they can be fossilized including skin, although there are rare occasions. They are also known for having flat, overlapping, plate-like structures on its ribs. If adults/males were in fact using these spurs for combat, the plates are a lot less mysterious."

Then they see two male Thescelosaurus circling each other as the females watched raising their neck feathers before running at each other pecking at each other, screeching, squawking, dodging a bite, and grabbing and scratching each other with their spurred forearms before the winner drives off his rival.

Thomas: "Look at how the two males are fighting one another competing for dominance and look how much damage they are doing. They read online that some specimens have been discovered with Sharp spurs. Think of a cock fight with these dinosaurs. These fights are short, but sometimes can be vicious."

Lincoln: "Those were some interesting facts, Thomas and Lisa."

Sandy: "Say, Thomas, how about that long-neck critter in the middle?"

Thomas: "You'll like this one Sandy. It has been found in Texas But seeing it here in hell creek. I mean this formation and the southern Javelina formation were divided by mountain ranges. I believe this individual is a lone vagrant wanderer, this here is Alamosaurus sanjuanensis, named by Gilmore, it would have been the largest dinosaur in North America."

Sandy: "I read about this texan dinosaur before, the Alamosaurus was a gigantic quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck and tail and relatively long limbs. Its body was at least partly covered in bony armor. In 2012 Thomas Holtz gave a total length of 30 meters (98 ft) or more and an approximate weight of 72.5–80 tonnes (80–88 short tons) or more. Though most of the complete remains come from juvenile or small adult specimens, three fragmentary specimens suggest that adult Alamosaurus could have grown to enormous sizes comparable to the largest known dinosaurs like Argentinosaurus, which has been estimated to weigh 73 metric tons (80 short tons). Scott Hartman estimates Alamosaurus, based on a huge incomplete tibia that probably refers to it, being slightly shorter at 28–30 m (92–98 ft) and equal in weight to other massive titanosaurs such as Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus. However, he says that at the moment, scientists do not know whether the massive tibia belongs to an Alamosaurus or a completely new species. In 2019 Gregory S. Paul estimated one specimen at 27 tonnes (30 short tons), and he also mentioned a large partial anterior caudal vertebra which suggests an Alamosaurus specimen that is 15 percent dimensionally larger with similar mass to his Dreadnoughtus estimation of 31 tonnes (34 short tons). In 2020 Molina-Perez and Larramendi estimated the size of the largest individual at 26 meters (85.3 ft) and 38 tonnes (42 short tons). Though no skull has ever been found, rod-shaped teeth have been found with Alamosaurus skeletons and probably belonged to this dinosaur. Alamosaurus remains have been discovered throughout the southwestern United States. The holotype was discovered in June 1921 by Charles Whitney Gilmore, John Bernard Reeside, and Charles Hazelius Sternberg at the Barrel Springs Arroyo in the Naashoibito Member of the Ojo Alamo Formation (or Kirtland Formation under a different definition) of New Mexico which was deposited during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. Bones have also been recovered from other Maastrichtian formations, like the North Horn Formation of Utah and the Black Peaks, El Picacho and Javelina Formations of Texas. The preserved skin of Alamosaurus that have been found would have been covered with osteoderms, dermal bone structures that support the upper layer of skin and serve as protection against the elements. Alamosaurus belong to a family of sauropods known as Titanosaurs who's ancestors hailed from South America, rather than Asia."

Thomas: "That was some interesting information about Sandy, and what's even more interesting, there is a common depiction showing a T. Rex fighting a sauropod like a brontosaurus which lived in the Jurassic. Alamosaurus is the only known sauropod to live alongside the king of Dinosaurs. A full grown adult would have no threats from a T. Rex as would normally go after a sick, injured, old, or young individual. To sum up all this up, this is good news for us, since there are a lot herbivores which are prey animals in the area, they're all natural prey of T. Rex, and Prey and predators are attracted to water holes just like in Africa, and I think Courage found some tracks of the predator over there."

Courage: "Get a look at these ones (whimpering)"

Charlie: "They look fresh, we follow them and hopefully we'll find them."

French Narrator: "The footprints are fresh and it looks like a well-used track. T-rex are fast movers, reaching 17 miles an hour when they need to. Before long, the single trackway was followed by several more. Their quarry was not alone. The tracks are really beginning to tell a story."

As they our heroes followed the footprints which became more than one indicating this was a group of them and it seems they have reached T. Rex Territory.

Thomas: "Look at the tracks, the footprints may not look much, but they can tell us about the behavior of animals like how it walked, did it traveled alone or in groups, was it running, was it a hunt, or a battle? As you can see there is a depression in the ash floor. That was a big tail sweep and there was a kerfuffle here. Another tail dragged over there."

Tish: "You know, T. rex was historically depicted as a 'living tripod', with the body at 45 degrees or less from the vertical and the tail dragging along the ground, similar to a kangaroo seen in artwork, museums, movies, and books like in the Charles R. Knight tail dragging was once a common theme among portraying now know it's wrong by 1970, scientists realized this pose was incorrect and could not have been maintained by a living animal, as it would have resulted in the dislocation or weakening of several joints, including the hips and the articulation between the head and the spinal column. The inaccurate American Museum of Natural History mount inspired similar depictions in many films and paintings (such as Rudolph Zallinger's famous mural The Age of Reptiles in Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History) until the 1990s when films such as Jurassic Park introduced a more accurate posture to the general public. Modern representations in museums, art, and film show T. rex with its body approximately parallel to the ground with the tail extended behind the body to balance the head."

Charlie: "She's right, today you don't see any forms of tail dragging on any dinosaur since we have found footprints and there are no signs of any tail dragging marks behind them. Other than walking, A T. Rex has to lay down and sleep. To sit down, Tyrannosaurus may have settled its weight backwards and rested its weight on a pubic boot, the wide expansion at the end of the pubis in some dinosaurs. With its weight resting on the pelvis, it may have been free to move the hindlimbs. Getting back up again might have involved some stabilization from the diminutive forelimbs. The latter known as Newman's pushup theory has been debated. Nonetheless, Tyrannosaurus was probably able to get up if it fell, which only would have required placing the limbs below the center of gravity, with the tail as an effective counterbalance. Healed stress fractures in the forelimbs have been put forward both as evidence that the arms cannot have been very useful and as evidence that they were indeed used and acquired wounds, like the rest of the body. From what I'm seeing here, the tracks seem to go on. Maybe we're getting towards the center of their territory."

French Narrator: "What the rescue team doesn't realize is they're already in the center of their territory!"

The group heard the T. rexes long before they saw them, and approaching the next ridge, Thomas froze and stopped in his tracks.

Thomas: "Crouch down everyone! Get down now!"

Luna: "Leni get down!"

Max: "Get down! May you want to get caught!"

Numbuh 1: "Get down Numbuh 3!"

Numbuh 3: "Oof!" (As she was dragged down.)

Buttercup: "Gotta hide!"

Leni gasped as Lori dragged her down as they hid behind the ridge as some tyrannosaurs passed by them. After they left they looked up to see at least five of the monstrous predators congregating in the ashen crater, its floor littered with white bones bleached in the blazing sun. Fortunately, the tyrannosaurs were oblivious to the presence of the humans and cartoons have hidden nearby, staying downwind of the theropod's advanced olfactory senses.

Lucy: "So this is their home, I like what they did to the place with the bones scattered around."

Numbuh 2: "They obviously bring food back here for their young."

Tucker: "In terms of lifespan, They would have lived to 30 years, reproducing quickly, and dying young attributes their short life spans to the dangerous lives they lived. It's a harsh world with dangerous herbivores, environmental hazards, and rivals. During their growth from juvenile to adult, Tyrannosaurus was capable of slowing down its growth to counter environmental factors such as lack of food. It indicates that the rate of maturation for Tyrannosaurus was dependent on resource abundance and that in such changing environments, Tyrannosaurus was particularly well-suited to an environment that shifted yearly in regards to resource abundance, hinting that other midsize predators might have had difficulty surviving in such harsh conditions and explaining the niche partitioning between juvenile and adult tyrannosaurs. Over half of the known T. rex specimens appear to have died within six years of reaching sexual maturity, a pattern which is also seen in other tyrannosaurs and in some large, long-lived birds and mammals today. These species are characterized by high infant mortality rates, followed by relatively low mortality among juveniles. Mortality increases again following sexual maturity, partly due to the stresses of reproduction. One study suggests that the rarity of juvenile T. rex fossils is due in part to low juvenile mortality rates; the animals were not dying in large numbers at these ages, and thus were not often fossilized. This rarity may also be due to the incompleteness of the fossil record or to the bias of fossil collectors towards larger, more spectacular specimens. In a 2013 lecture, Thomas Holtz Jr. suggested that dinosaurs "lived fast and died young" because they reproduced quickly whereas mammals have long life spans because they take longer to reproduce. "

Thomas: "A Tyrannosaurus life was hard, Tucker. Another detail about them is just have a close look at the skin, what do you see?"

Lola: "Mostly scales really?!"

Cat: "I don't really see much, but wait. I see something that looks like Peach fuzz fur like feathering."

Lana: "So that would mean are Dinosaurs we would normally see look scaly or feathery? like the raptors?"

Thomas: "Yes, Velociraptor was feathered!"

Spongebob(Raising his hand): "But what about our target dinosaur?"

Charlie: "Yeah, the T. Rex, we're looking for, was it covered with scales or feathered?"

Thomas: "I think it was a mix of both, since it was a large animal it didn't need a full coat of feathers in a hot warm climate, As you can see T. Rex had only a sparse coat of filaments, slender threadlike object or fiber, along its neck, arms, and dorsum on the top part of its body.

Take us and elephants for example. Although we look like we have skin, we still have loose strands of hair in our case depending on the gender, the arms, legs, pits, and chest so T. Rex would have been like that, and look at that adult male he seems to have a feather like crown mane like the mane of a lion, and it would be perfect as the mantle and crown for the King of the Dinosaurs."

Thomas: "And you are correct, Cat, Since the discovery of feathered dinosaurs it led to a debate regarding whether, and to what extent, Tyrannosaurus might have been feathered. Filamentous structures, which are commonly recognized as the precursors of feathers, have been reported in the small-bodied, basal tyrannosauroid Dilong paradoxus from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China in 2004. Because integumentary impressions of larger tyrannosauroids known at that time showed evidence of scales, the researchers who studied Dilong speculated that insulating feathers might have been lost by larger species due to their smaller surface-to-volume ratio. The subsequent discovery of the giant species Yutyrannus huali, also from the Yixian, showed that even some large tyrannosauroids had feathers covering much of their bodies, casting doubt on the hypothesis that they were a size-related feature. A 2017 study reviewed known skin impressions of tyrannosaurids, including those of a Tyrannosaurus specimen nicknamed "Wyrex'' which preserves patches of mosaic scales on the tail, hip, and neck. The study concluded that feather covering of large tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus was, if present, limited to the upper side of the trunk. Another detail has to do whether had exposed teeth or were the teeth covered with lips, A conference abstract published in 2016 posited that theropods such as Tyrannosaurus had their upper teeth covered in lips, instead of bare teeth as seen in crocodilians. This was based on the presence of enamel, which according to the study needs to remain hydrated, an issue not faced by aquatic animals like crocodilians. A 2017 analytical study proposed that tyrannosaurids had large, flat scales on their snouts instead of lips. However, there has been criticism where it favors the idea for lips. Crocodiles do not really have flat scales but rather cracked keratinized skin; by observing the hummocky rugosity of tyrannosaurids, and comparing it to extant lizards they found that tyrannosaurids had squamose scales rather than a crocodile-like skin. As we can see with these individuals, they are mostly scaly with big scales, lip structures covering their teeth and some faint peach fuzz Filament feathering. There some sexual dimorphism. The larger ones must be the males

They have the bright and larger orange brow horns, an orange like face, and a red throat gular sac pouch compared to the smaller dull color, and shorter females. Only a single Tyrannosaurus specimen has been conclusively shown to belong to a specific sex. Examination of B-rex demonstrated the preservation of soft tissue within several bones. Some of this tissue has been identified as a medullary tissue, a specialized tissue grown only in modern birds as a source of calcium for the production of eggshell during ovulation. As only female birds lay eggs, medullary tissue is only found naturally in females, although males are capable of producing it when injected with female reproductive hormones like estrogen. This strongly suggests that B-rex was female and that she died during ovulation. Recent research has shown that medullary tissue is never found in crocodiles, which are thought to be the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, aside from birds. The shared presence of medullary tissue in birds and theropod dinosaurs is further evidence of the close evolutionary relationship between the two."

Charlie: "It does make sense as T. Rex is more closely related to birds than reptiles, Tyrannosaurus, like most dinosaurs, was long thought to have an ectothermic ("cold-blooded") reptilian metabolism. The idea of dinosaur ectothermy was challenged by scientists like Robert T. Bakker and John Ostrom in the early years of the "Dinosaur Renaissance'', beginning in the late 1960s. T. rex itself was claimed to have been endothermic ("warm-blooded"), implying a very active lifestyle. Since then, several paleontologists have sought to determine the ability of Tyrannosaurus to regulate its body temperature. Histological evidence of high growth rates in young T. rex, comparable to those of mammals and birds, may support the hypothesis of a high metabolism. Growth curves indicate that, as in mammals and birds, T. rex growth was limited mostly to immature animals, rather than the indeterminate growth seen in most other vertebrates. Oxygen isotope ratios in fossilized bone are sometimes used to determine the temperature at which the bone was deposited, as the ratio between certain isotopes correlates with temperature. In one specimen, the isotope ratios in bones from different parts of the body indicated a temperature difference of no more than 4 to 5 °C (7 to 9 °F) between the vertebrae of the torso and the tibia of the lower leg. This small temperature range between the body core and the extremities was claimed by paleontologist Reese Barrick and geochemist William Showers to indicate that T. rex maintained a constant internal body temperature (homeothermy) and that it enjoyed a metabolism somewhere between ectothermic reptiles and endothermic mammals. Other scientists have pointed out that the ratio of oxygen isotopes in the fossils today does not necessarily represent the same ratio in the distant past, and may have been altered during or after fossilization (diagenesis). Barrick and Showers have defended their conclusions in subsequent papers, finding similar results in another theropod dinosaur from a different continent and tens of millions of years earlier in time (Giganotosaurus). Ornithischian dinosaurs also showed evidence of homeothermy, while varanid lizards from the same formation did not. In 2022, Wiemann and colleagues used a different approach—the spectroscopy of lipoxidation signals, which are byproducts of oxidative phosphorylation and correlate with metabolic rates—to show that various dinosaur genera including Tyrannosaurus had endothermic metabolisms, on par with that of modern birds and higher than that of mammals. They also suggested that such a metabolism was ancestrally common to all dinosaurs. Even if T. rex does exhibit evidence of homeothermy, it does not necessarily mean that it was endothermic. Such thermoregulation may also be explained by gigantothermy, as in some living sea turtles. Similar to contemporary crocodilians, openings (dorsotemporal fenestrae) in the skull roofs of Tyrannosaurus may have aided thermoregulation. There were some cases of soft tissue found in T. rex . The one leg that Thomasn mentioned was dated to belong to a female that is a expecting mother They were more similar to birds like chickens including the blood vessels."

Amanda: "Do you think they'll hear us?"

Double D: "T. rex had a very long cochlea."

Leni: "Cochlena?"

Double D: "The inner ear. Somewhat unusually among theropods, The length of the cochlea is often related to hearing acuity, or at least the importance of hearing in behavior, implying that hearing was a particularly important sense to tyrannosaurs. Specifically, data suggests that T. rex heard best in the low-frequency range, and that low-frequency sounds were an important part of tyrannosaur behavior. T. Rex and other dinosaurs can hear sounds that are inaudible to the human Ear."

They watched the tyrannosaurs engaging in their daily routine, most notably a younger pair wrestling one another with open jaws.

Double D: "Look at that kerfuffle back there, that must have been the juveniles fighting over scraps of food."

Numbuh 4: "That looks like a dangerous play to me mate."

As the Aussie boy visibly wincing as the tyrannosaurs continued to tussle, locking their jaws with one another, jagged teeth glistened in the sunlight.

Arnold: "Well, they do have huge jaw muscles."

Jake: "So how did T. Rex eat like go for the kill!"

Charlie: "And according to the latest research, their bite force is estimated to be over ten times more powerful than a lion's! A very powerful bite. Although some people debate T. Rex was a scavenger or Hunter. Most paleontologists accept that Tyrannosaurus was both an active predator and a scavenger like most large carnivores. By far the largest carnivore in its environment, T. rex was most likely an apex predator, preying upon hadrosaurs, armored herbivores like ceratopsians and ankylosaurs, and possibly sauropods. A study in 2012 by Karl Bates and Peter Falkingham found that Tyrannosaurus had the most powerful bite of any terrestrial animal that has ever lived, finding an adult Tyrannosaurus could have exerted 35,000 to 57,000 N (7,868 to 12,814 lbf) of force in the back teeth. This allowed it to crush bones during repetitive biting and fully consume the carcasses of large dinosaurs. Stephan Lautenschlager and colleagues calculated that Tyrannosaurus was capable of a maximum jaw gape of around 80 degrees, a necessary adaptation for a wide range of jaw angles to power the creature's strong bite."

Thomas: "That is true Charlie, I do believe it was a Hunter even hunters like lions, bears, and sharks do scavenge the dead if given the chance like modern large predators it would readily scavenge or steal another predator's kill if it had the opportunity,there are no pure scavengers. It seems there are males and females in this pack. Tyrannosaurus were mostly social animals In the fossil record, T. rex and their relatives have been found together. That's a clue that they were sociable animals. They're a real mob, like a gang looking for trouble. They really interact, I wonder if they hunt in packs."

Lincoln: "I mean one T. Rex is bad enough, but when dealing with its whole family? That's even worse."

Thomas: "It would be worse and their hunting method would have been Cooperative pack hunting may have been an effective strategy for subduing prey with advanced anti-predator adaptations which pose potential lethality such as Triceratops and Ankylosaurus. Although some scientists believe they hunted more like Komodo dragons only coming together to hunt one single target and then fight over feeding rights. This pack represents a small portion of the population. According to studies published in 2021 by Charles Marshall et al., the total population of adult Tyrannosaurus at any given time was perhaps 20,000 individuals, with computer estimations also suggesting a total population no lower than 1,300 and no higher than 328,000. The authors themselves suggest that the estimate of 20,000 individuals is probably lower than what should be expected, especially when factoring in that disease pandemics could easily wipe out such a small population. Over the span of the genus' existence, it is estimated that there were about 127,000 generations and that this added up to a total of roughly 2.5 billion animals until their extinction. In the same paper, it is suggested that in a population of Tyrannosaurus adults numbering 20,000, the amount of individuals living in an area the size of California could be as high as 3,800 animals, while an area the size of Washington D.C. could support a population of only two adult Tyrannosaurus. The study does not take into account the amount of juvenile animals in the genus present in this population estimate due to their occupation of a different niche than the adults, and thus it is likely the total population was much higher when accounting for this factor. Simultaneously, studies of living carnivores suggest that some predator populations are higher in density than others of similar weight (such as jaguars and hyenas, which are similar in weight but have vastly differing population densities). Lastly, the study suggests that in most cases, only one in 80 million Tyrannosaurus would become fossilized, while the chances were likely as high as one in every 16,000 of an individual becoming fossilized in areas that had more dense populations. Meiri questioned the reliability of the estimates, citing uncertainty in metabolic rate, body size, sex and age-specific survival rates, habitat requirements and range size variability as shortcomings Marshall et al. didn't take into account. The authors of the original publication replied that while they agree that their reported uncertainties were probably too small, their framework is flexible enough to accommodate uncertainty in physiology, and that their calculations do not depend on short-term changes in population density and geographic range, but rather on their long-term averages. Finally, they remark that they did estimate the range of reasonable survivorship curves and that they did include uncertainty in the time of onset of sexual maturity and in the growth curve by incorporating the uncertainty in the maximum body mass."

Then they notice them leaving over the ridge, all activities in the crater were called to a halt upon the bellow of the largest Tyrannosaurus, a robust female and a male who promptly lumbered away. The others fell into line.

Eddy: "They're leaving."

French Narrator: "It's one thing to find a T. Rex, but it's another thing to take one home. Fortunately, dinosaurs lay eggs and they're a lot easier to carry."

Thomas: "We can go now since they're gone, maybe we could try to find some eggs."

French Narrator: "Amongst the remains of the T. rex victims littered across the den, Thomas finds what he's looking for. Unfortunately, he's too late."

As they searched the crater, among the bones of their previous prey, they found some broken eggshells.

Charlie: "Dang it, they've already hatched."

Thomas: "This is a bummer. They've either been broken into by a predator, or more likely, they're last season's eggs."

Chloe: "I think we should leave that T. Rex pack might be back any minute."

Charlie: "Yeah, good idea."

Ash: "The bright side is, at least we know where they live."

French Narrator: "Another day and they're still no closer to saving a T. rex."

Twilight in Late Cretaceous Montana, and the adventurers were back at camp. Above them, shooting stars raced across the night sky. Unfazed by this phenomenon, the creatures of earth carried out their routine, business as usual. But for everyone present, it was a bad omen.

French Narrator: "And up above are the first signs that the meteorite is closing in. Streaking across tonight's sky are shooting stars. Huge boulders plough into the Earth 's atmosphere at 20,000 miles an hour. They are the precursor of something much, much bigger."

Everyone was gathering around the campfire roasting marshmallows, Squidward was toasting his marshmallow lightly. Patrick, sitting across from him, sets his on fire and tries to blow on it to cool it down, but the marshmallow flies off and hits Squidward in the face. Patrick gets another marshmallow and repeats the same thing twice. After two marshmallows to the face, Squidward ducks, chuckling, but the third marshmallow has a boomerang effect and hits Squidward in the back of the head, as he grumbles.

Charlie: "Look at this cosmological activity. Those are meteors. Nothing to worry about. They burn up in the atmosphere, but they're in the bow wave of the meteorite. And the meteorite, when that comes, it's gonna crash into the Earth. That's the problem. And we're running out of time."

Thomas: "Don't worry Charlie. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better and we can save a T. rex or two."